Morning opening: Building as much as Super Sunday
Jakub Krupa
Good morning, or dzień dobry, from Warsaw, Poland, the place 13 presidential applicants are up very early to profit from the remaining day earlier than the “electoral silence” kicks in forward of this Sunday’s first spherical of the presidential vote.
With main contenders hitting the marketing campaign path round 6am native time these days, it’s going to be a lengthy day forward for them as they hope to persuade some unsure electorate in what looks as if an an increasing number of tight race.
The frontrunner, Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, popped in to a bakery in Myśliborz, whilst his major rival, conservative Karol Nawrocki, went to mention hello to miners. You get the speculation.
I’ve spent the previous few days right here speaking to electorate and attending rallies by means of applicants starting from far-left to far-right, and I can deliver you a few of what I noticed and heard these days and over the weekend.
The applicants have handiest till nighttime to marketing campaign, they usually wish to make each minute depend.
I can deliver you extra updates in this all the way through the day, as we construct as much as Super Sunday with elections no longer handiest in Poland, with Portugal set to select its subsequent executive and a tremendous shut presidential run-off in Romania.


But we will be able to additionally keep watch over the European Political Community summit in Tirana, Albania, the place key European leaders are anticipated to speak about the way forward for the continent. Britain’s Starmer, Germany’s Merz, France’s Macron, Turkey’s Erdogan, Poland’s Tusk, and EU’s von der Leyen and Costa are all there.
I can deliver you the entire key updates all the way through the day.
It’s Friday, 16 May 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa right here, and that is Europe Live.
Good morning.
Key occasions
Meet the important thing avid gamers – Poland

Jakub Krupa
Let’s take a handy guide a rough take a look at the newest polls in Poland, that specialize in the 2 main contenders – centrist Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski of the ruling Civic Coalition and his conservative rival, Karol Nawrocki, officially impartial, however counseled by means of the populist-nationalist Law and Justice celebration that ran the rustic between 2015 and 2023.
Remember: it’s the primary spherical vote this Sunday, which means that until anyone will get over 50% (which they received’t get), the highest two undergo to the run-off in two weeks’ time.
Very surprisingly for Poland, it seems to be most likely they might come at below 60% in mixed vote percentage this 12 months – method underneath the 70-80% in earlier elections, appearing the degrees of frustration with each events that ruled the rustic’s political panorama during the last 20 years.
This creates extra space for different applicants, together with libertarian far-right Confederation’s Sławomir Mentzen, who even in brief challenged Nawrocki to 2d, however has pale in the previous few weeks.
Outside the highest 3, you are going to see an in depth fight for the fourth between the surging Adrian Zandberg of the leftist Razem (Together) celebration, centre-right Szymon Hołownia of Poland 2025, and Magdalena Biejat of the New Left (Nowa Lewica), the left wing of the ruling coalition. They are all polling someplace between 5 and 8%, and their endorsements may just play a vital function within the run-off.
The complete 13-name lineup additionally options some fringe figures corresponding to a nationalist far-right chief Grzegorz Braun, below probe for placing out Hanukah candles within the Polish parliament with a fireplace extinguisher and a post-communist left veteran Joanna Senyszyn.
Ukraine dominates headlines in Europe
Before we dive into Poland, Portugal and Romania to any extent further, let me deliver you some headline updates from throughout Europe, with loads of comprehensible center of attention on Ukraine –
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy has despatched a delegation to Istanbul for peace talks with Russia, paving the best way for the primary direct negotiations between the 2 international locations since March 2022 – even though Washington has warned that no step forward is most likely until Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin agree to satisfy.
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EU international coverage leader Kaja Kallas stated this morning that Russia was once “clearly” no longer operating for peace with Ukraine, as she instructed leaders attending the European Political Community summit in Albania to ramp up the force on Russia to care for its “political isolation.”
You can practice our separate are living weblog on Ukraine right here:
Morning opening: Building as much as Super Sunday

Jakub Krupa
Good morning, or dzień dobry, from Warsaw, Poland, the place 13 presidential applicants are up very early to profit from the remaining day earlier than the “electoral silence” kicks in forward of this Sunday’s first spherical of the presidential vote.
With main contenders hitting the marketing campaign path round 6am native time these days, it’s going to be a lengthy day forward for them as they hope to persuade some unsure electorate in what looks as if an an increasing number of tight race.
The frontrunner, Warsaw mayor Rafał Trzaskowski, popped in to a bakery in Myśliborz, whilst his major rival, conservative Karol Nawrocki, went to mention hello to miners. You get the speculation.
I’ve spent the previous few days right here speaking to electorate and attending rallies by means of applicants starting from far-left to far-right, and I can deliver you a few of what I noticed and heard these days and over the weekend.
The applicants have handiest till nighttime to marketing campaign, they usually wish to make each minute depend.
I can deliver you extra updates in this all the way through the day, as we construct as much as Super Sunday with elections no longer handiest in Poland, with Portugal set to select its subsequent executive and a tremendous shut presidential run-off in Romania.
But we will be able to additionally keep watch over the European Political Community summit in Tirana, Albania, the place key European leaders are anticipated to speak about the way forward for the continent. Britain’s Starmer, Germany’s Merz, France’s Macron, Turkey’s Erdogan, Poland’s Tusk, and EU’s von der Leyen and Costa are all there.
I can deliver you the entire key updates all the way through the day.
It’s Friday, 16 May 2025, it’s Jakub Krupa right here, and that is Europe Live.
Good morning.